Cued Speech Success Stories

Sharing Cued Speech Success Stories

I too love ASL as it is a beautiful language, but if a deaf person wants to learn to speak English, I say learn Cued Speech as well. It's like a tool added to speaking. Just as the voice is added to lip movements to make it audible, the hand is added to make it visual. So when I am with deaf and hearing people, I wish I can use the same language, but in most situations around here (NYC) I have to sign and speak. So conversations take a little longer and are not as continuous. But when I use Cued Speech with my brother, I can cue and speak at the same time, so no one is left out or made to wait. Also, I can directly interpret the conversation without distracting others, because I can turn on my voice when I want to speak and turn it off when I am only translating. (Meanwhile my hand flies, trying to keep up with the conversation. I am not a fully trained Cued Speech user, just one was an every day user of Cued Speech.)

So ASL is beautiful and I wish more people knew it. Within a silent (or semi-silent) community it is great. I am now learning it to communicate with the few deaf people I encounter while working and to communicate with my family fluidly because my brother's wife is also deaf. Cued Speech is a very useful tool added to spoken language, making the spoken languages accessible to all and allowing all spoken words and sounds to be expressed in real time. I never learned to make those sound effects like wet cabbage hitting the ground and the crunching of a carrot "crunch" with Cued Speech though.
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